Pomegranate Kernels Recalled Due to Possible Hepatitis ContaminationNo Idaho Illness Have Been Reported

Scenic Fruit Company of Gresham, Oregon announced it is voluntarily recalling eight ounce bags of Woodstock Frozen Organic Pomegranate Kernels because of the potential for hepatitis A virus (HAV) contamination. People who purchased this product should not eat it, but should dispose of it immediately and keep proof of product purchase. Recalled product was shipped during February – May 2013 to a small number of retail stores in Moscow, Lewiston, Eagle, Meridian, Ketchum, and Rigby. This product may also have been included in prepared smoothies from a smoothie and tea bar in Moscow. (A complete list of Idaho retail outlets that received the recalled product is below.)

There are no illnesses currently associated with the recalled Scenic Fruit Company product and no tests have confirmed the presence of HAV in the Woodstock Frozen Organic Pomegranate Kernels. However, there is an ongoing investigation of HAV illnesses associated with a pomegranate kernel-containing frozen berry blend distributed by Townsend Farms that was recalled from Idaho Costco stores in early June. There have been no Idaho illnesses linked to this recall to date.

Consumers who ate any of the Woodstock product within the past 14 days and haven’t been vaccinated against hepatitis A should contact their health care provider or local public health district to consider vaccination or immune globulin (IG). Consumers who have consumed the product and have any of these symptoms should contact their health care provider immediately for evaluation:

Yellow eyes or skin

Abdominal pain

Pale stools

Dark urine

Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that usually occurs when an infected food handler prepares food without appropriate hand hygiene. Food contaminated with hepatitis A virus, as is suspected with the pomegranate kernels, can cause illness among people who eat or handle the food. While hepatitis A can cause severe sickness, nearly all who get hepatitis A recover completely with no lasting liver damage.